CalumEspo

I can't remember the exact spec of the lights we installed but it was something similar to this I believe, http://www.tryka.co.uk/Module1in-ground.htm .. i will try and find the exact one and post it later.

The stairs are solid concrete, so the lights were installed while they were re-tiled. A cable connects the left to the right, and then each stair runs down behind the skirting board on the right to a cupboard that we built to hold the 27 drivers and DMX controllers. It then integrates into the rest of the LED controlled lights and is controlled by a programme called show magic.

Rageq3a

I'm thinking about doing the same thing and was glad to run across this article. I'm new to all of this and was wondering if you had a schematic that you worked from or did you go from the TLC5940 data sheet. Also Sparkfun has a TLC5940 breakout board that I was thinking about using in conjunction with the common anode LEDs you used https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10616?, do you have any thoughts on using it?

Cranium

I'm thinking about doing the same thing and was glad to run across this article. I'm new to all of this and was wondering if you had a schematic that you worked from or did you go from the TLC5940 data sheet. Also Sparkfun has a TLC5940 breakout board that I was thinking about using in conjunction with the common anode LEDs you used https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10616?, do you have any thoughts on using it?

I created my own schematic using both the ATMega328 datasheet and the TLC5940 datasheet.

I tested the design and operation on a breadboard before creating the circuit boards.

Since trying to create a one layer circuit board to hold all of the IC's and connectors was not really possible without a lot of jumpers, I decided to go with 4 circuit boards with the same type connectors that the arduino uses.

The sparkfun breakout board would be good to use if you want to become familiar with them or don't have a way of etching your own circuit boards. Just remember that you'll have to buy a bunch of these to control a whole staircase full of RGB lights. I've actually been thinking of designing a kit to allow DIYers to purchase that will be enough to control 15 stairs with RGB LEDs and will have an arduino integrated. But this is still a ways off.

Rageq3a

A kit would be nice but I only have 8 stairs that I would apply this to which cuts down on the number of boards, and I have a coat closet whose top shelf is just about mid-way up the stairs right next to it. For the different routines I was thinking about incorporating a keypad as well.

DJDiamondT

Hello is it possible to tell me everything that was used. I never done anything close to electronics but I saw this and told the Club that I DJ at and they want me to try and do it. Can you tell me the name and cost of every piece of equipment used and if you are not in the states where can I purchase in the states and how long did this take to configure, test and so on?

OP will have to give you the Bill of Materials and we aren't exactly here to babysit a development.

If you have absolutely no electronics prototyping or development experience at all, I fear you may make a newbie mistake. The club owner shouldn't be asking you, but rather some engineer nearby. Not that I doubt your ability, everybody is able to its just I don't want them to lose faith in you.

If you want to do this yourself, then I suggest looking into a few things before you try and tackle this as your first project.Yes you have to read allll of this, but it will help you a lottttt so just bear with me.

First off, you need an arduino or some sort of arduino clone development board. Many recommend the UNO, and I do as well for you. Its the most popular and most simple one to understand.

When I started, my brother bought me this book and it helped immensly, I was gonna quit but this book helped make it pretty clear to me on how things worked.http://www.makershed.com/product_p/9781449309879.htmIt helped out a lot with describing the basics of prototyping with the arduino and coding and everything I needed to know to just get started.That was 4 years ago, so it may be a little dated, but all the concepts should be the same.There may be an e-book or a pdf out there of this book too if you can't find a bookstore that carries it or something.

If you can, get all the parts in this kit. The book is made to go along with a kit and it should work just fine with this one.http://www.makershed.com/Getting_Started_with_Arduino_Kit_V3_0_p/msgsa.htmDon't buy that product unless you want less hassle and have money to throw around.You can get all those components at websites like Digi-key and Mouser or even just eBay.

Notes about the above kit:-The USB cable is USB-A to USB-B, like a printer cable kinda. -The deluxe jumper wires are just Male-Male jumper wires-There are two types of RGB leds, common anode or common cathode. Not sure which it is, so just get both-Everything else is straight forward

Once you have gotten all that and have done a few of the stuff in the book, work look over some of these things.

This link is for the external IC, the TLC5940 16-channel PWM LED driverhttp://playground.arduino.cc/Learning/TLC5940Seeing as how you are new to this, i'll explain a bit. The TLC5940 is a 16-channel constant current led driver with grayscale correction. Basically what that means is that it can individually control 16 leds. It is commonly used with RGB leds, like in this project. NOTE: This driver sinks current, not source, so you will have to have common ANODE RGB LEDS. (If you don't quite get that, you will through learning from the book, and you can search google. its very well explained. If you do decide to stick around, you'll probably ask some questions and chances are, you will get a response from Grumpy_Mike. Hes very knowledgeable and he has a website. He explains things very nicely. Link : http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Tutorial/Introduction.html. There you can learn what the PWM means.

You will also want to check out http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoToBreadboardThis link is a little old, and refers back to the ATmega168, but it is still completely valid. This would be a more advanced thing to you, something you would do when you have grasped the arduino platform and basic electronics pretty well. This project is a standalone project, in that it does not have a full arduino board integrated into the project. It is driven by the microcontroller it is just on its own board and is no longer dependent on the Arduino board to operate. You will need an extra ATmega328p to do this.

You will also need to look up analog inputs, that is covered in the book though. There are a lot of things you need to know to get this done, and I hope the best of luck. You can ask any questions any time if you decide to pursue this. I hope you do, because it is really fun.

This is definitely _not_ a project to start with. First one blinks a led. Then a few leds. Then a lot of leds. Then one rgb led, then a few rgb leds, then a lot of rgb leds. Meanwhile one learns blink without delay and debouncing, and led sequences, and state-based programming and so on.

Also, a club is a public place, so safety regulations must be taken into account. Say you light up the entire stairs for half an hour and something gets so hot it could start a fire... Pretty scary...

This is definitely _not_ a project to start with. First one blinks a led. Then a few leds. Then a lot of leds. Then one rgb led, then a few rgb leds, then a lot of rgb leds. Meanwhile one learns blink without delay and debouncing, and led sequences, and state-based programming and so on.

Also, a club is a public place, so safety regulations must be taken into account. Say you light up the entire stairs for half an hour and something gets so hot it could start a fire... Pretty scary...